Notice to Quit Help Guide

Landlords and property owners should use a notice to quit to evict, or threaten to evict, tenants who are late on paying rent, who have violated the terms of their lease, who have violated a relevant law (e.g. creating a nuisance or engaging in activity that threatens the health of others), or whose lease term has expired (holdover tenants). This notice can also be used to end periodic tenancies such as week-to-week or month-to-month tenancies.

In cases where the tenant can still fix the problem to avoid eviction, the notice will inform the tenant that they will not be evicted should they comply within the notice period. It is recommended that landlords give tenants an opportunity to fix violations, whenever possible, lest a judge should decide that more notice was required.

Completing the Agreement

Note that if you select a notice period of "0 days," then this means that the notice will require the tenant to immediately vacate (or cure the violation, if applicable).

Important: Landlords typically should never use a shorter notice period than allowed by state law unless state law explicitly permits the parties to agree to a shorter notice period in the lease agreement. If a lease agreement between the landlord and tenant specifies a longer notice period than the state minimum, the landlord MUST use the notice period agreed to in the lease. In this case, enter the amount of time specified in the lease.

In many states, accepting rent after the expiration of a fixed-term lease automatically converts it to a month-to-month tenancy. If this has occurred, indicate your reason for eviction and include the corresponding amount of notice.

Be sure to comply with your state requirements for serving the notice to quit. LegalNature's form includes a Proof of Service section which may help support you should you need to prove that the notice was properly served on a particular day. However, although we recommend always using a Proof of Service, most states besides California do not require it.

State-Specific Notice to Quit Information

Alabama – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Alaska – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Arizona – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Arkansas – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day. Arkansas is the only state that allows landlords to institute criminal misdemeanor proceedings, called a "failure to vacate" action, for failure to pay rent. In this case, the court can force the tenant to pay $1 to $25 for each day the tenant remains in possession without paying. Otherwise, the landlord can file an "unlawful detainer" civil action for nonpayment of rent or lease violations.

California – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day. If the landlord accepts rent after the fixed-term lease expires, a month-to-month tenancy is generally created and the tenant is no longer considered a holdover tenant. If the landlord then decides to terminate the tenancy, he or she would have to serve a 30-day notice to terminate the month-to-month tenancy.

Colorado – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Connecticut – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, the notice time does not include the first day or the last day. For example, if a three-day notice is served on April 01, then the tenant must comply or vacate by April 05. For evictions where the lease is month to month and the eviction reason is for nonpayment of rent, the notice cannot be served until 10 days after the rent is due, not counting the due date, so that it would be served on the eleventh day after the first of the month.

Delaware – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, do not include weekends or the day of service. For example, if a five-day notice is served on a Friday, then the tenant must vacate by 5:00 PM on the following Friday (since Saturday and Sunday do not count).

District of Columbia – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Florida – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, weekends, and legal holidays from the calculation. Landlords may also recover double the amount of rent due for the period during which the tenant refuses to surrender possession.

Georgia – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Hawaii – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day. If the reason for eviction is nonpayment of rent, then the landlord also must wait five days after the rent is due before serving the notice.

Idaho – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Illinois – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day. Unless they are located in Chicago, tenants typically do not have the right to cure lease violations and stay in the property. However, all tenants can cure nonpayment of rent should they pay the entire rent within the time limit, or if they pay the rent beyond the time limit but before the landlord files a Summons and Complaint for Forcible Entry and Detainer, in which case the eviction process must cease.

Indiana – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day. If the reason for eviction is nonpayment of rent, then the landlord also must wait 10 days after the rent is due before serving the notice.

Iowa – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day. A landlord can choose to accept a partial rent payment. This must be accompanied with giving the tenant a written grace period to pay the remainder. If the tenant does not pay the entire amount due by the end of the grace period, then the landlord can proceed with the next step in the eviction process without giving additional notice.

Kansas – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day. In Kansas, the statutory minimum notice required for a lease violation is 14 days to fix the violation, and if the tenant does not cure the violation within this time, the tenant must vacate within 30 days.

Kentucky – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Louisiana – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, weekends, and legal holidays from the calculation.

Maine – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day. If the reason for eviction is nonpayment of rent, then the landlord also must wait seven days after the rent is due before serving the notice.

Maryland – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Massachusetts – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Michigan – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, weekends, and legal holidays from the calculation.

Minnesota – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Mississippi – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day. The landlord is not allowed to refuse to accept the full payment of the rent prior to the issuance of an eviction order.

Missouri – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Montana – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day. Furthermore, if notice is made with a certificate of mailing or by certified mail, then service of the notice is considered to have been made upon the date three days after the date of mailing. Note: If your reason for eviction is a reason other than substantial damage to the unit or making the unit unsafe for others, then you need to also include the specific statute number the tenant has violated when describing the violation.

Nebraska – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day. In Nebraska, the statutory minimum notice required for a lease violation is 14 days to fix the violation, and if the tenant does not cure the violation within this time, the tenant must vacate within 30 days.

Nevada – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day. Note: A lease agreement cannot shorten any statutory notice period.

New Hampshire – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day. If the reason for eviction is nonpayment of rent, then the tenant must also pay $15 along with the total amount of rent due to remain. If the tenant has been served three times in a 12-month period for nonpayment of rent, then the landlord can serve a notice for immediate eviction and proceed with the eviction with no right to cure by the tenant.

New Jersey – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

New Mexico - When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

New York – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

North Carolina – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day. If the lease provides for automatic forfeiture of the premises upon nonpayment of rent after a certain time, then any tender of the rent within 10 days does not have to be accepted by the landlord.

North Dakota – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Ohio – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, weekends, and legal holidays from the calculation.

Oklahoma – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Oregon – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day. Add three days to the notice period if the notice is mailed. If the reason for eviction is nonpayment of rent, then the landlord also must wait eight days (five days if it is a week to week tenancy) after the rent is due before serving the notice.

Pennsylvania – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Rhode Island – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day. If the reason for eviction is nonpayment of rent, then the landlord also must wait 15 days after the rent is due before serving the notice.

South Carolina – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

South Dakota – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day. If the reason for eviction is nonpayment of rent, then the landlord also must wait three days after the rent is due before serving the notice.

Tennessee – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Texas – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, weekends, and legal holidays from the calculation.

Utah – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Vermont – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Virginia – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Washington – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

West Virginia – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.

Wisconsin – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, weekends, and legal holidays from the calculation.

Wyoming – When calculating the date a tenant must vacate by, exclude the day of service, and, if the last day of your notice period would fall on a weekend or legal holiday, then use the date of the following business day.